//------------------------------// // Prologue: This is War // Story: The Coming Storm // by SciWriter //------------------------------// To the leader Over one thousand one hundred years ago. Celestia and her two sisters tore through the woods the three huge stallions at their heels. “C’mon girls, we just wanna play!” called one of them. “It’s a new game, you’ll like it!” The three earth ponies kept running, Tia knowing they would all be fine if they could just make it home, home to mom. “Keep going you two, with me!” she shouted. Tia was the oldest, her sisters Luna and Cat were her responsibility and she was going to save them somehow. Tia did not know how this got started. One minute she was playing with her sisters, Cat being a little annoying as usual, and the next, three stallions yelled at them and started to run after them hooting, hollering and cheering as the three ran away. Tia had been scared by adults before, but usually just a quick “boo!”. However, something was different about this. These stallions were not backing off… Tia knew they were dangerous, so she urged her sisters on. As they ran through the snow-covered forest, the stallions seemed to be deliberately not gaining on them, just staying a short distance away. Luna tripped and toppled heels in the air in the snow. The stallions closed in on her and Tia quickly turned, standing in front of her. She expected the three stallions to surround her, but instead they continued after Cat, grabbing her as Tia stood over her tripped up sister. Tia’s eyes filled with horror as they grabbed Cat and ran away with her- no, they flew! Tia hadn’t noticed at first, but they were pegasi. They took off and she ran after them. “NO! Give her back!” she shouted. “Please- what are you doing?! Stop!” “We just want to play!” shouted one. “Earth pony dirt!” The blue stallion holding Cat tossed her in the air, another one, green, caught her, Tia screaming, terrified they would drop her. “Let us go, put her down, please!” “Put her down?” asked the green one, holding Cat at arm’s length, Cat screaming. “Stop!” Celestia shouted. The green one laughed, Cat struggling. “Please, come back down.” Cat kept struggling. “Stupid earth ponies, can’t even fly how do you- crap!” Cat slid from his grasp. She fell and landed on a shoot on the ground, her blood spilling out through the snow. Tia froze, her stomach sinking and everything around her starting to sound like she was in a tunnel. She couldn’t understand anything she heard as she tore forward. Luna and she met over the body. Tia held Cat’s head, but she couldn’t feel her breathing or moving. Tia looked up, “You have to help-“but they were gone. Luna and Tia held each other crying. (***) The Pariah. Four months ago. The dark navy blue pegasus stallion trudged through the snow. He had finally escaped. Project 152… no, that was never really his name. Fire Sky was his real name, the proud name his father gave him after his mother passed away giving him life. He walked up the grassy hill to his home. He expected his colts to come running out to him… for a fraction of a second. Of course, he had been kidnapped, so the system would have to get involved and put them in capable hooves until he was found. He would probably even have to go to Twilight, but whatever, anything to get his family back together. He smiled as his home came into view, sighing happily. He had seen so many things at the hooves of Dr. Gray, but it was all over. The elements and princesses had killed the monster who kidnapped him and kept him. Still, there was the matter of the abilities he got from the experiments of Gray. He opened his right wing, flames dancing around it, with a thought they vanished and then re-ignited with another mere impulse. “Impulses” was apparently what the public was starting to call stallions like himself. He shrugged and started moving forward again. Something to make games for the kids with. The door in front of him opened, a house sitter? No… not her- what was she doing here? A jade colored unicorn with a welt under her eye walked out from behind the door. “You’re alive,” she said. “What are you doing here?!” he demanded. “You went missing five months ago Fire, ponies got worried. Your boys went to princess Twilight when you didn’t come home for a few days, terrified.” “What are you doing here!?” he demanded again. “After the shit you pulled you’re lucky a black eye was the worst thing you got.” “Is that any way to talk to the mother of your children?” “You tried to kill me! I can’t believe they let you out of prison.” “Well you weren’t around to continue the trial. You skipped town apparently.” “I was kidnapped, I would never skip on my boys.” “Well that’s sure what it looked like. They asked if I would take custody and of course I had to.” “Why would they- custody?!” his teeth started to grind. “You’re a dead beat father who hit his wife.” “You hit me first- I lost track of how many times, and that day you came at me with a knife. We are done you damn- where are the kids?” Two stallions walked out of the house behind her, both of them brown. “Far Shot? Talon? The heck are you two doing here?” he asked. “Look, you’ve got to help me. Jade changed a lot over the years, you wouldn’t believe it-wait- why are you here? Where are my sons?” “Our sons!” Jade corrected. “The things you called them when we last saw each other, you lost the right to call them yours Jade!” Fire shouted back. “Now where are they?” “They don’t belong to either of us now.” “What?” “I locked them in the cellar until they stopped being so annoying. These two are here helping me get rid of the evidence.” “I won’t believe it. Even you wouldn’t do that.” However Jade threw two objects out from behind the door. Fire looked at them. They were worn hooves. “Little brats kept pawing at the door, not good for their hooves but it makes no difference now I guess.” She smiled. Then she looked at Fire Sky. “Of course now that you know, all three of us need you dead.” The two brown pegasi stallions walked out from her, to either side of Fire. “Far Shot? Talon?” he asked. “What… what did she do to you two?” “Nothing,” Far Shot answered. “You got lucky landing her seven years ago, we’ve always envied that… well now that you’ll be out of the picture, I suppose it doesn’t matter.” “You two aren’t like this.” “Again, doesn’t matter,” replied Talon. “You’re not leaving here.” Fire pawed the ground to fight. “Really? Why even bother? Your family is gone, your wife has given you up- who knows what happened to you these last six months when you were kidnapped… by the way who took you?” Fire Sky sat down, wings drooping to the ground. He decided not to answer, not directly. “My sons…” a smiled creeped onto his lips. “You would think I would be haunted by all this,” he chuckled, raising his right wing. “But it doesn’t really bother me!” Both stallions were now only a few feet away from Fire and in seconds they were both surrounded by blue intense flames. Both stallions screamed as the fires washed over them, their screams dying as their corpses fell to the ground, turning black. Fire Sky smiled slowly starting to sing, tears pouring out of his eyes. “Alright…. Alright… alright.” Jade backed away from him, back into the house. Jade screamed, slamming the door, her running hoof beats could be heard behind the door. Fire Sky started laughing, singing, “Alright… Alright… alright…” Flames shot to the house from both of his wings the wood of his cottage immediately turning to kindling, fire spreading throughout the home. Inside Jade screamed again. Fire Sky just kept laughing. “Alright, alright, alright…” The laughing continued, on and on as the house burned, eventually, laughs giving way to cries, giving way to quiet sobs. (***) The Victor The stallions all around them stomped and shouted, Fire Sky glaring at his opponent with a sense of tempered anger. Silent, a white stallion with a black mane, had helped him through some rough times, but now he stood in the way of what needed to be done. “Silent Storm, this is not necessary. Simply listen to me. They must be put under our hoof, where they belong.” Silent Storm just looked at him, eyes unmoving. “Silver was your typical mare, when she chose you as a leader… but we’ll correct her mistake today won’t we?” The stallion opposite him on the stage still didn’t move or speak. Fire looked at the battlefield around him. All around was the Appaloosa wasteland, the field specifically chosen for this battle. No trees so he wouldn’t catch the trees on fire and hurt the stallions that would fall under his command when he won. All around was flat lands, and far in the distance were the mountains of the Macintosh hills. “Here we go again,” Silent said with a sigh. Blue flames erupted around Fire Sky as his wings slung out from his sides. He pawed the ground once, then took off running straight at the pale white pegasus. Flames shot off from Fire’s body, streaming at Silent. Silent opened his wings, a powerful wind cutting through the fire and slamming into Fire Sky’s head, forcing the blue stallion into a barrel roll, spinning with his heels in the air. Fire dropped to the ground, his head slamming into the hard rocks. Determined, Fire rolled back up, “I won’t surrender!” Silent rolled his eyes. Fire charged again, this time fire surrounding his body, even more powerful than before and gushing towards Silent Storm. Just as the flames were about to hit Silent, Silent Storm’s body shot into the air, propelled by a massive gust of wind. Fire Sky laughed, watching Silent retreat, “Ha!” he started. “You see, when a colt messes with a stallion- ooof!” The wind was knocked right out of Fire Sky as he was pulled into the air by Silent Storm at an astonishing speed. Fire Sky slowly pulled his mind back into action, looking ahead, the mountains in the distance suddenly not so much in the distance. Fire quickly focused on making flames again, fire starting to spin around him, even with the wind speed they were traveling at. Fire smiled, ready to burn his- and his back slammed into the rocks of the Macintosh Hills. Fire’s head throbbed as Silent landed next to him. “Stop making me do this Fire.” Fire’s back and head throbbed as he rolled onto his side. “This colony needs a strong leader to secure it, not just the person who best understands impulse powers.” “I understand many things better than you Fire, but I want to help you, not fight you.” “I know you’re trying to help us Silent, that’s the reason I didn’t kill you in your sleep, but you will cede power to me, you’ll see.” “I’ll bring the doctor around,” Silent replied. He flapped his wings, taking off slightly his wind powers activating again, him disappearing from sight. (***) The Messiah. A few years ago. The cry of a baby signaled the sea green mare’s ears and she raised her head. The load she had been carrying in her teeth was heavy, but still, instinct made her pay attention. A stallion holding an infant ran across her vision, tearing down the street. The silver maned mare dropped what she was carrying and raced after him. “What the hell?” she asked herself. Four guards followed in the wake of the stallion, however Silver Strider kept up, just staying out of sight, something telling her this was anything but simple. Another mare followed in the wake of the stallions, yelling at them to get her baby back. Finally the guards cornered the stallion in the outskirts of Apploosa. “Just give us the child sir, no one will hurt you, just give us the child.” The brown stallion backed away slowly, clutching the baby to him. “You all don’t understand…” The mare pushed through the guards. “Look what he did to me!” she pointed at her right eye, which had formed a huge black welt. “You don’t understand!” the stallion shouted again. “She tried to shake our daughter. She needs help, but she can’t have a baby- I had to stop her. I didn’t want to hit her but it was the fastest way to stop her. Please, listen to me, I’m sorry, but I had to save our baby.” One guard was dressed in red armor and spoke up. “You abusers sicken me with your excuses. Just give us the child and go. I can’t imagine what you want to do to it.” The stallion held the baby close, then smiled down at it, closing his eyes. “If… if you don’t know who to believe, just take her yourselves, I can understand, how could you know?” “Give me my baby!” the mare demanded. The head guard looked at the brown stallion. “I won’t repeat myself. You are to give the baby over. She belongs to her mother, not a creep who beats mares.” “None of you witnessed what happened.” “Mares don’t abuse, stallions do.” “I didn’t say she was an abuser, she needs help though-“ “Give her over!” the guard yelled. The stallion sighed, holding the baby close. Silver started to creep closer. The stallion slowly placed his baby on the ground and the stood up, placing himself between the guards and his child. “You won’t give her back without going through me.” Silver started to run. ‘Are they all insane? Just- just-‘ her mind raced. The head guard shouldered his spear- Silver used her magic to pull a knife out of her saddle bags, her horn lighting up. One of the surrounding guards moved towards the baby, the father turning and grabbing him. It was like slow motion for Silver, the spear flew forward, straight through the stallion’s neck, him dropping to the ground. Silver screamed, her knife shooting forward at the head guard, where on him she didn’t bother to aim. It hit his head, him dropping next to his victim. The other three guards turned, seeing Silver running towards them. Her horn glowed again, dust flying up around her and into their faces. Two of the guards were earth ponies the third a pegasus. The pegasus took flight as she threw herself between the baby and them. The baby started screaming and crying loudly. All three guards were pushing the dust out of their eyes as Silver picked up the spear and ran it through the pegasus in the air. Her magic pulled the spear out and sliced back and forth, executing the remaining guards. Tears streaming out of her eyes, Silver turned to the mare. The red mare dropped to the ground, “Don’t hurt me! Please, stop hurting my family… my baby-“ “It’s not your baby anymore!” Silver shouted. She blinked, then looked around herself. “I- what have I…” the red mare slowly got to her hooves, the baby still screaming. “I’ll take my baby-“ The spear was leveled at the red mare. “Not… your… baby. All you did, was stand there and make it worse. Far as I care, you ran him through, you killed her father.” “You call me a killer?” asked the mare, looking at the carcasses. “Your words don’t move me. Fight me yourself for her.” Silver tossed away the spear. “Go ahead, you’re her mother, fight for her.” The mare ran away. Silver picked up the baby and held her close. “I’m sorry little one. What kind of a world are we leaving for you?”